Thursday, April 26, 2012

Growing Potatoes

Growing potatoes does not need to be difficult or space-intensive. My favorite technique is to grow the potatoes above ground in wire bins. I simply assemble the bin, place the potatoes on the ground, cover with 3 inches of soil and wait. As the potatoes sprout, I add compost, shredded leaves, shredded paper and other organic matter to cover and encourage the greens to grow up. Once the bins are full, I let the plants flower and then harvest the potatoes. To harvest, I simply open up the bins and sift out the potatoes.

Step One: Purchase seed potatoes (I bought mine from Sky Nursery this year) and cut the potatoes so that each piece has one eye.
Step Two: Place cut potatoes on the ground in the bins.
Step Three: Cover with soil. Once the potatoes sprout above the soil, add organic matter until the greens reach the top of the bins and wait for the plants to flower.
Step Four: Once the plants flower and the green tops start to die back, open the bins and harvest I will post photos later in the year once I harvest. Happy growing!!